FC Spartak Plovdiv

PFC Spartak Plovdiv (Bulgarian: ПФК "Спартак" Пловдив) is a Bulgarian football club based in Plovdiv, which currently plays in the third tier of Bulgarian football, the Third League. The club was established in 1947 and folded its senior team in 2016, before being 'refounded' in 2017. Spartak currently plays its home matches at the 3,000-seat Todor Diev Stadium in the Kichuk Parizh district of Plovdiv. The stadium is named after the club's all-time greatest player Todor Diev.

Spartak Plovdiv
Full nameProfessional Football Club Spartak Plovdiv 1947
Nickname(s)Гладиаторите (The Gladiators)
Founded15 November 1947 (1947-11-15)
GroundTodor Diev Stadium
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Capacity3,500
ChairmanGeorgi Kolev
ManagerStefan Uchikov
LeagueThird League
2019–20A Regional League, 1st (promoted)
WebsiteClub website

Established in 1947, following the communist takeover in Bulgaria, Spartak was first enrolled in the second tier in 1952, before achieving promotion to the A Group a year later. In the following years, Spartak established itself as a force in the first tier. In 1958, Spartak won its first major trophy, the Bulgarian Cup, beating Minyor Pernik in the final. Spartak Plovdiv’s greatest achievement came in 1963, however, when the team surprisingly won the Bulgarian league. The following year, Spartak participated in the Balkans Cup, where the team finished as runner-up.

Following these achievements, Spartak was dissolved in 1967 to the surprise of many, which was partly for political reasons. The team was re-founded in 1983, starting from the third tier. In 1995, Spartak returned to the top level of Bulgarian football, 28 years after its last appearance in the A Group. Spartak survived only two seasons, however, and it was relegated in 1997. After that, the team suffered financial problems and has been playing in lower leagues mostly since then.

History

Spartak was founded on 15 November 1947, after being evolved from three earlier Plovdiv clubs – Levski, Septemvri and Udarnik. The club is a reference to the Roman slave hero Spartacus. This reference also explains the club's nickname – The Gladiators (Bulgarian: Гладиаторите). The first team colours of the club were chosen the same year, and soon Spartak was characterized by a blue, red and white check jersey.

The 1950s and 1960s were Spartak's golden age, spending that time in the A PFG. The club has been once champions of Bulgaria (in 1963), coming second the previous year, and Bulgarian Cup winners (in 1958).

The club participated in the European Cup competition for the first time in 1963–64 vs KF Partizani Tirana (0:1, 3:1) and vs PSV (0:1, 0:0). Second continental participation was in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1966-67 vs S.L. Benfica (1:1, 0:3). In 1964 Spartak reached the Balkans Cup final, losing to FC Rapid București after two legs – 1:1 at home and 0:2 away.

In 1967 Spartak was merged with SSK Akademik and Botev Plovdiv into a new club – AFD Trakia. An independent Spartak did not re-emerge until 1982. The club spent the period from 1982 to 1994 in the second and third divisions. In the 1993–94 season Spartak finished 2nd in B PFG, and qualified again for the A PFG, after 27 years break. But two seasons later, the team relegated again to B PFG. The club merged in 1998 with Komatevo Sokol`94 and were renamed Spartak-S`94. This remained the club's official name till the 2001–02 season.

League positions
Third Amateur Football League (Bulgaria)Regional Amateur Football Groups (Bulgaria)Regional Amateur Football Groups (Bulgaria)Bulgarian V AFGBulgarian B Football GroupBulgarian V AFGBulgarian B Football GroupBulgarian A Football GroupBulgarian B Football GroupBulgarian V AFGBulgarian B Football GroupBulgarian V AFGBulgarian A Football GroupBulgarian B Football Group

Honours

Domestic

First League:

Bulgarian Cup:

European

Balkans Cup:

  • Runners-up (1): 1964

Players
As of 1 August 2020[1]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  BUL Aleksandar Vitanov
2 DF  BUL Hristos Dokov
3 DF  BUL Georgi Kamburov
5 DF  BUL Hristo Stamov
6 MF  BUL Veselin Otman
7 MF  BUL Svetoslav Chitakov
8 MF  BUL Hristos Dokov
9 FW  BUL Lyubomir Tsekov
No. Pos. Nation Player
10 MF  BUL Kiril Georgiev
12 GK  BUL Aleks Vasilev
14 DF  BUL Nikolay Parnarov
16 DF  BUL Atanas Buchov
18 MF  BUL Martin Simeonov
20 MF  BUL Krastyo Milev
21 DF  BUL Yordan Minev

European record
Season Competition Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate
1963–64 European Cup Preliminary round Albania FK Partizani Tirana 3–1 0–1 3–2
First round Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 0–1 0–0 0–1
1966–67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Second round Portugal S.L. Benfica 1–1 0–3 1–4

Kit manufacturers
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